The Shepard of Mankind
by Marie MacLir
Summary: The true question no on had ever asked until now about the supposed biotic orphan warhero from earth...Just who was John Shepard? (((NOW a story instead of one shot)))
1. Chapter 1

The air was cold and crisp. A fresh snowfall had just stopped and the night was oddly quiet and silent after the roar of metal and debris from a space station exploding causing the destruction of what was believed to be every AI in existence.

A wind blew across the rubble.

_Cold_

There were bits and pieces of large chunks of metal and debris from space strewn everywhere

_Heavy…Hard to breathe… Focus…_

A Chest piece with N7 on it moved up suddenly as if shocked by the wind

_Ow… no helmet…cold air… ow…REALLY cold air…_

The rubble tuned and shot up and off the body in a display that for the longest time was believed to be "biotics"

_If they only knew_

Shepard pulled himself onto shaky legs. He looked himself over. Miranda and the illusive man didn't spare any expense when he was half dead a few years back. His body held together rather well upon re entry this time. A lot of the mechanics were broke and his body was barely holding together but they would be easily dealt with.

He groaned and winced as another breath of cold sharp air entered his lungs. He tried to hold his breath as long as he could but each time became harder and harder.

"Damn." He winced putting his hands over his nose and mouth and began to look around. It made it easier but not by much

He moved to a large section of debris and checked it. While it probably wouldn't be a permanent residence it would be stable enough for a night or two. Enough to get some rest and recovery before he would be forced to do some real work.

_Where did it end up?_ He thought to himself as he looked over and smiled as he saw a bright red and blue flashing light under the snow. He began to dig and uncovered the medium sized N7 trunk. He winced back as his hands grew numb then shook himself.

"Always do things the hard way when you're in the public eye don't you…John Shepard?" he asked himself chiding the name being spoken. He stepped back and focused his mind and the air around him grew warm causing some of the snow to become water. He jerked his wrist and the box came up out of the snow and dirt.

He opened it and changed from broken armor to decent winter clothing. He took special care to wrap the wool scarf around his face and made sure it was tight but not suffocation

He took in a deep breath without problems. "Much better" his muffled voice said.

He caught sight of something black and white and saw Anderson's body. "Anderson. So this is where you fell to." He said moving the Debris off of the body and picked it up carrying it to the structure. "I'm sorry; it's too cold and really dark. I can't really burry you tonight. But I promise that when I get up tomorrow it will be the first thing done."

He laid the body on the snow and pulled a tarp out of the box and laid it out then wrapped the body in it. "Tonight I shall work to make sure your body isn't eaten by some sort of creature. I'll give you a good burial."

Shepard sighed and gathered material for a fire and started one up. It was warm and comforting.

He laid another tarp over the cold wet ground and laid down on it making sure the fire would last long enough. He stared up at the stars and wondered about the Normandy and its crew. The Emperor of Mankind slowly closed his eyes and promised himself he would give John Shepard a good burial too. As he dreamed he wondered when someone would see him again, not as John Shepard the hero of the galaxy but as a normal person.

"I'll have to enjoy the down time Captain Anderson…" he murmured to the body. "I get the feeling that soon I won't be able to be anything but the hero soon."


	2. Chapter 2

**Memo from the Desk of Thlydd:**

**Hello everyone, Just a few notes.**

**First off: this was originally meant to be a one shot however after losing a fight with two irl beta readers, a letter from a fellow fan fic writer and losing a debate with myself I have decided to create the one shot into a story. Not exactly sure where it's going to go just yet but I have something that resembles a direction at the moment.**

**Second: I was, in no way shape or form, intending on making the Emperor a moron. I don't know why people keep saying that but it wasn't meant to.**

**So uh… That should be everything. So enjoy the once one shot now story guys, please review to let me know how you think it's going**

**And as always. Thanks for reading.**

The Emperor of Mankind opened his eyes, awakened by a change in the world around him. He sat up in pure darkness as he looked around; the air was warm not cold. There was silence not wind. There was no tarp and snow beneath him. Instead there was a mattress and cloth sheets. He blinked as he touched his head and didn't feel the wounds of falling through space.

He took in a breath and sighed as he shook his head. He realized the truth. He was on board the Exalted heading to the system they had designated as Talus where they had found signs of Chaos.

He rubbed his eyes and pulled himself up and out of bed. He wavered for a few moments and went to wash his face his mind filled with thoughts. It had been a long time since he had thought about that time when he was Commander John Shepard of the SSR-2 Normandy. He had long ago buried his crew members; that did not mean he did not miss them every so often. They had been a team and they had earned his respect and admiration as he had earned theirs.

But time has a way of doing things its own way. Fading memories like old photographs until the edges are almost white and the picture is faded so you can barely see people but you still know they are there. His crew had been buried long ago on Earth, Palavin, Thessia and various other planets that they had come to call home. Even Liara and Samara, both asari who had long life spans had passed into their Goddesses Embrace' millennia ago. They had all faded into his memory, leaving not a gaping hole of the recent dead but the warm memory of knowing someone.

And even further still, as he thought of his old friends, he wondered about the dream as he moved out into the hall of the ship and walked around, watching the space marines as they went about their daily work. He paused as he heard shouting coming from the room ahead of him. He looked through the door of the training room to find Leomann Russ and Lion El'Johnson in another one of their fights.

"I don't give a damn what you think. Do you honestly expect me to believe some shit like that?" Russ had blared at Lion while he stood there silent, his eyes were hard and his face impassive, typical of the dark angels primarch but underneath those who knew him best would see he was seething with rage almost as much as Russ was.

The Emperor held out a hand as he felt Roboute walk up to him to halt him from stopping their fight. They watched as Lion stood there seething while Russ lashed out. Russ glared and growled then turned and went to the door surprised to see the two of them there.

"Ah… Father." El'Johnson said giving a bow. Russ bowed as well then turned. "If you two will excuse me." He said but the Emperor grabbed his arm.

"Do either of you wish to tell me what happened?" he asked. It was the tone most fathers used with their children that stated that they knew full well what happened but waited for you to see if you wanted to fess up.

"No." Russ said pulling away. Johnson gave a bow and left going the opposite direction.

"Well… Those two have seem to come quite some ways." He remarked to Guilleman. "Sir?" He asked confused.

"Sibling rivalry is a typical thing. It wasn't something that I had counted on but I suppose it cannot be helped. But for now at least they are doing well enough. I feel that the Lion and the Wolf will soon become friends."

Roboute remained silent on this but instead turned the topic. "We have breeched the warp. Our Astropaths believe it to be another twelve hours until we reach the Talus system. The planet which has been dubbed Marble is our destination. We do not know if any xenos will be encountered but we are preparing for whatever may come."

"Well done." The emperor said then paused as he realized the truth. When going through the Way the engines and impact over the ship cause things to be very loud. He was awakened by the silence of them leaving. He gave a chuckle to himself then shook his head at Roboute as the Ultramarine primarch gave a confused look.

_I wonder… would you have laughed at me Tali'zara Vas Normandy? Would you have made fun of me because I had woken up because it was quiet?"_ he thought to himself as he turned to walk. "Have we heard from Sanguanis yet?"

"No sir. But we should within the next few hours."

"Let me know when we hear from him. Until then… Dismissed."

Roboute nodded and bowed as the Emperor walked the halls of the ship to the main deck. He could not shake the feeling in his mind that something was amiss. He had flashbacks sometimes; he would admit it to himself but…

_Something so long ago…and buried in both time and memory…what is going on?_

He knew he had never dreamed a memory. And so vivid that when he awoke he immediately thought of the memory as true. Something was wrong; he trusted his instinct several times before. The vampire wars, the Starios invasion, the attack of the Old Ones. Even, as his mind dwelled on it, the Reapers.

He had sensed the change as each approached, even ones he didn't remember anymore. He knew them all.

He could never truly describe what the feeling was. It was like dread but not dread. It was the cold dark chill that you feel when something bad is about to happen. It was the knowledge that something was behind you. It was the feeling that you got when time slowed as danger approached. It was the instinct that took over on the walk down the street in the dead of night when you could no longer ignore the urge to run.

It was all these things together and yet none of them. He could never; and maybe would never, be able to express it in any language he knew. And he ended up learning a lot of languages over the ages.

He paused as he heard a voice; he turned and saw Ashley walking by him talking to Wrex. The illusions walked through him as they spoke; their voices were muffled beyond his ability to hear. He blinked and they were gone.

"Flashbacks? This does not bode well… Not well at all." He muttered to himself as he continued on to the main deck. One of the marines noticed him and bowed bellowing that he had come on deck. The others soon followed suit as he waved a hand. "Carry on." He ordered as he moved to the Captain. "Captain. What is our status?"

"Sir. We are proceeding on course as planned. No threats have been detected. We will reach the Talus system in less than ten hours."

The emperor nodded. "Well done. Continue the good work." He said then turned and walked out, his mind still buzzing with thoughts. He returned to his room. The walk had done him some good and he felt tired once more. He had spent far too long awake the past few days and now he was paying the price with exhaustion.

"That might be the explanation for the dreams and flashbacks but…"

He looked out at the starry expanse around him. "I would be a fool to think it explains the foreboding…"

He moved to his bed and laid down closing his eyes and drifted off into a dark dreamless sleep.

The sound of a knock at his door jarred him from slumber. He opened it to find Roboute standing there. "Sanguanis has joined us. He awaits you in the mission room. We'll arrive at the Talus system in four hours."

"Good." The God Emperor said as he turned and walked out of the room. "Gather Lion and Leoman as well and meet me there."

"Sir!" Guilleman said turning to hunt down his brothers.

The emperor turned and took the long way to the briefing room. He felt his heart pounding in his chest, his psyker abilities tingling at his skin. He focused his mind and brought it all to center and held it there as he took in a deep breath and walked into the meeting room knowing one thing out of everything that was going on with him.

_It's coming. Whatever it is… it's coming._


	3. Chapter 3

The Emperor walked into the room; Russ, El'Johnson, Guilleman and Sanguanis were wafting for him.

"Sanguanis. It is good to see you are well. How was the journey?"

"Well Sir." He replied. "Horus and his Luna Wolves will be awaiting us on Marble. They are currently setting up a 'home base', so to speak, for us to meet them at."

"Good. How else goes things?"

They watched the Emperor in silence before Rouboute spoke. "We arrive in marble in a few hours. The Ultramarines, Space Wolves and Dark Angels await commands."

Sanguanis nodded. "I have sent my blood angels ahead of us to meet Horus at the planet where they will aid in whatever he needs. So far there has only been mild interference by local wildlife but in case there is some sort of xenos we have not encountered that is overtly hostile and powerful I doubt they will be needed for more then aid in setting up."

The Emperor nodded then eyed them carefully. "What?" He asked expectantly.

"Are you alright sir?" Sanguanis asked after a moment of odd awkward silence. "You are pale, and you are shaking. Are you ill?"

The Emperor turned to his reflection in a metal plate nearby, indeed his face was pale and he looked at his hands that were tingling with energy causing them to shake. He shook his head. "No. I am fine. I..." he debated with himself on speaking then overruled his decision. They were his heirs, his sons and they had the right to know.

"There is...something going on. I do not know what yet but I can feel a dark energy approaching us and it means to do harm. I do not think it is on the planet itself but it is most definitely on the way to the planet. Be on guard."

They nodded in turn and he waved. "Dismissed. Prepare for touch down. Let me know when we are ready to land."

"Sir." They said in unison and turned to leave, Sanguanis remained behind.

"Is something wrong?" The God Emperor asked.

"Father... I'd like to try and talk to you in private about something, if I may." he asked uncertain.

"Uncertainty benefits no one Sanguanis. Do you want to talk or do you want to wait?" The Emperor said cuttingly.

Sanguanis nodded. "I want to talk about something in private."

"Good. I would have thought that by now you would have more confidence in matters of discussion. Of my primarchs I would expect a half hearted chat with Lion, not with any one else. Now." he said toning down his chiding. "What is it?"

"About what you said, that something was coming. Some of my men told me that they had encountered a strange signal coming from space. They did not recognize it as any such that we had encountered before. They did not investigate but," He looked away. "Four of the five psykers on board fainted when they first encountered the signal. two of them have regained conscious, one remains unconscious and one had died. They are currently working on trying to identify the cause of death but from what preliminary examinations say the one who died had passed because of several blood vessels in the brain ruptured. They do not believe it was because they fell to the floor."

"Neither do I. What do you believe Sanguanis?"

"I think it was that signal. The psyker who remained conscious reported having headaches to the degree that he could not remain in any lit area and was violently sick for a few hours. He has since recovered but I have secretly ordered their quarantine. if something happens because of that signal I want my men to be ready. This is also why I sent them ahead. For the added back up of Horus' Luna wolves in case something DOES happen."

"Does Horus know?"

"Yes. I privately radioed him. I told him what i just told you. He understood and is awaiting any change. So far nothing has happened other than running into some wild predators which, in his words, 'will give Russ a new cloak so he can get rid of the stink that he has on the one he currently uses' "

The emperor chuckled at the comment then grew serious once more.

"Very well. Thank you for telling me. Go meet with your brothers. We will arrive soon."

A man with dark hair in grey armor decorated with basilisk eyes stood at the edge of the ramp with a few others in grey and black armor with a moon/wolf insignia on their armor. Roboute stepped on the ground as the man with dark hair walked up taking his outstretched hand shaking it as brothers in arms. "Roboute. Glad to see you all arrived safely. Sanguanis, your marines have been invaluable, because they are here I could send the brunt of my troops to look around more. Russ, El'Johnson." he nodded as the Emperor descended the ramp to the man.

"Father." he said bowing. "We've found much in the way of things here. No signs of any life other than wild but we have still only started."

"Horus." The emperor nodded. "Tell your brothers and I what you have found so far."

Horus nodded. "We have set up camp about three miles from here. The wildlife is relatively harmless with a few predators but I believe that we have shown ourselves to be something that is not to be messed with after a few fights with some creatures that we have just discovered. We have created files on them for your space marines to review to prepare themselves."

"Well done. You have yet to find any intelligent life?" he asked.

"No sir. Neither human nor Xenos. Chaos has yet to be seen either." Horus said as he gestured and a neophyte who brought a crate near them that he had been standing over. "We have found several types of vegetation. This one in particular is interesting because of its high liquid content relative to the other plants around here. It would make sense to use these for colonies we have here that are not near very many water sources." he handed a piece to the Emperor who took a bite from it and shared some with the other marines.

Russ took a bite out of it and nodded, wiping at some that drooled down his chin. "Lacks taste but makes up for the thirst." he said as Sanguanis licked his lips. "There is a strange taste in it."

Horus shrugged. "We are not certain of it's botanical abilities but we do know that it is not poisonous. Many of the smaller creatures seem to eat these often. Possibly as a way to get moisture and hydration. There are other foods we have found to be useful if we ever start a colony here."

The Emperor looked over the crates of fruit and vegetation that Horus had brought as samples and nodded. "Well done." he turned to Roboute and Russ. "Roboute, Leomann, see what you can do to help in exploration. Lion, send your Dark Angels to aid Sanguanis' Blood angels in preparing and protection."

They nodded. "Sir."

Sanguanis remained behind as Horus sent his Neophyte's with the marine groups. "Tell me Horus. What of Sanguanis' blood angels. Has anything changed?"

Horus shook his head. "No, nothing has happened since they arrived. We have placed those who have regained consciousness under quarantine for the remainder of the day unless you state otherwise. The one who has become sick appears to have recovered and is doing light work for now though he is also under observation."

"Nothing has changed in their demeanor?" Sanguanis asked. Horus shook his head. "Aside from appearing to recover none of them have shown any signs of possession nor taint. Whatever happened seems to have been temporary. Though I am still watching them."

"Good. Continue to do so for the next day. Keep them quarantined for the rest of the day and then confine them to the camp tomorrow. We will watch them. If they are truly possessed they will attack soon enough. If not then we have nothing to worry about."

They traveled for an hours time before reaching the camp where Horus was greeted by a Blood angel Captain and Ezekyle Abaddon, his most favored Captain.

"Gadriel, Ezekyle . What news do you have?" Horus asked.

Abaddon bowed to the Emperor as he took a place beside Horus. "The blood angels have finished the camp and the Luna wolves are beginning to return from their scouting trips. It seems that there are many ruins in the area and we have gathered many artifacts as to the possible knowledge of what species created them and what knowledge we could gain.

"Good. Anything else?" The Emperor asked.

"Yes. A few blood angels have gone out on their own as well and have reported signs of possible civilizations nearby. Several trees bearing the fruits we have found are missing them."

"Could it not be animals?" The emperor asked.

"No sir." Gadriel said. "I have seen them myself. The fruits have been cut with a sharp implement and some vines have also been cleared away from other places obviously making a path that is well tended to a nearby river about half of a standard hour away from here. We have also found evidence of nets and a cage obviously used to catch some of the water-based life.

The Emperor nodded and closed his eyes as if considering what to do next. In reality he was trying to shut out the humming in his ears that was brought on by being on this planet. He felt strange after eating the fruit, he doubted it was a poisonous plant because though space marines were immune to ingested poison they still knew it was poisonous and would not offer it to the primarchs, let alone him. instead it was something else. Something vaguely familiar.

He finally opened his eyes and nodded. "Scout for these civilizations but do not approach, especially if they are xenos. Instead keep an eye on them and gather information. We will decide what to do after that."

They bowed and walked off to relay the orders.

"Father?" Horus asked.

"I am alright Horus. It is just... Something is strange here. Familiar. I'm not sure what. Come. Take your brothers and myself to this ruin and river that you have spoken of. I am intrigued to see it."


End file.
